Multiple Sclerosis in Children

How to Cite This Article: Inaloo S, Haghbin S. Multiple Sclerosis in Children. Iran J Child Neurol. 2013 Spring;7(2):1-10. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most important immune-mediated demyelinated disease of human which is typically the disease of young adults. A total of 4% to 5% of MS population are pediatric. Pediatric MS is defined as the appearance of MS before the age of sixteen. About 80% of the pediatric cases and nearly all adolescent onset patients present with attacks typical to adult MS. Approximately 97% to 99% of the affected children have relapsing-remitting MS, while 85% to 95% of the adults experience such condition. MS in children is associated with more frequent and severe relapses. Treatment is the same as adults. We aimed to review the epidemiology, etiology, clinical manifestations, and treatment of MS in children. References1. Lublin F. History of modern multiple sclerosis therapy. J Neurol 2005 Sep;252(Suppl 3):iii3-iii9. Review.2. Murray TJ. 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Neurology 2005 Apr;64(8):1422-5

Febrile Seizure in Thalassemic Patients

ObjectiveFebrile seizure is the most common seizure disorder in children. Its pathophysiology is not fully understood yet; however, some risk factors have been cited for it. Iron is one of these influential elements and is involved in the metabolism of some neurotransmitters which are reduced in irondeficiency anemia and also increases the sensitivity of neural cells during a febrile episode. The present study aimed to determine the rate of febrile seizure in thalassemic patients and to compare it with the corresponding rate in the normal population.Materials & MethodsThis descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 766 patients with thalassemia major. They were all older than 6 months and were referred to Dastghaib Cooly's Clinic, affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, from Oct 2006 to May 2007, and 766 normal and healthy children as the control group. Questionnaires containing demographic data and past history of febrile seizure, age of febrile seizure, number of episodes, hospitalization, and related family history were prepared and filled through interviewing the parents.ResultsFebrile seizure was detected in 7 cases of the patient group (0.9%) versus 18 cases (2.3%) of the control group. The frequency of febrile seizure in the controls was 2.5 times more than that in the thalassemia group, which was statistically significant (P < 0.05).ConclusionThis study showed a lower rate of febrile convulsion in thalassemic patients compared to the control group. Accordingly, it could be suggested that high iron storage is a protective factor against febrile convulsion.

An Isolated Integrated Charger for Electric or Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles

For electric and hybrid vehicles using grid power to charge the battery, traction circuit components are not normally engaged during the charging time, so there is a possibility to use them in the charger circuit to have an on-board integrated charger.In this Licentiate thesis, an isolated high power integrated charger is proposed, designed and constructed based on a special ac machine with a double set of stator windings called motor/generator.The charger is capable of unit power factor operation as well as bi-directional power operation for grid to vehicle application.The mathematical electromechanical model of the motor/generator is derived and presented. Based on the developed model, new controller schemes are developed and designed for the grid synchronization and charge control. The machine windings are re-arranged for the traction and charging by a controllable relay-based switching device that is designed for this purpose.A laboratory system is designed and implemented based on a $4$ pole $25~kW$ interior permanent magnet synchronous motor and a frequency converter considering the integrated charging features for winding re-configuration. The practical results will be added in the next step of the project. The charging power is limited to $12.5~kW$ due to the machine thermal limit (half of the motor full power in the traction mode) for this system.The whole system is simulated in Matlab/Simulink based on the developed model and controllers to verify the system operation for the charge control. Simulation results show that the system has good performance during the charging time for a load step change. The simulation results show also a good performance of the controllers leading to machine speed stability and smooth grid synchronization. Moreover, the unit power factor operation is achieved for battery charging in the simulations

An Isolated Integrated Charger for Electric or Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles

For electric and hybrid vehicles using grid power to charge the battery, traction circuit components are not normally engaged during the charging time, so there is a possibility to use them in the charger circuit to have an on-board integrated charger.In this Licentiate thesis, an isolated high power integrated charger is proposed, designed and constructed based on a special ac machine with a double set of stator windings called motor/generator.The charger is capable of unit power factor operation as well as bi-directional power operation for grid to vehicle application.The mathematical electromechanical model of the motor/generator is derived and presented. Based on the developed model, new controller schemes are developed and designed for the grid synchronization and charge control. The machine windings are re-arranged for the traction and charging by a controllable relay-based switching device that is designed for this purpose.A laboratory system is designed and implemented based on a $4$ pole $25~kW$ interior permanent magnet synchronous motor and a frequency converter considering the integrated charging features for winding re-configuration. The practical results will be added in the next step of the project. The charging power is limited to $12.5~kW$ due to the machine thermal limit (half of the motor full power in the traction mode) for this system.The whole system is simulated in Matlab/Simulink based on the developed model and controllers to verify the system operation for the charge control. Simulation results show that the system has good performance during the charging time for a load step change. The simulation results show also a good performance of the controllers leading to machine speed stability and smooth grid synchronization. Moreover, the unit power factor operation is achieved for battery charging in the simulations